Kashkin, Nikolai Dmitrievich

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Kashkin, Nikolai Dmitrievich

Kashkin, Nikolai Dmitrievich, noted Russian

music critic; b. Voronezh, Dec. 9, 1839; d. Kazan, March 15, 1920. After receiving rudimentary instruction in music from his father, an amateur, he went to Moscow (1860), where he studied piano with Dubuc. He commenced writing music criticism for the Moskovskiye Vedomosti (1862). That same year he became a teacher at the Moscow branch of the Russian Musical Soc, remaining there when it became the Moscow Cons. (1866), and serving as prof, until 1896. He was also music critic for the Russkiye Vedomosti (1877-78; 1886-97). As a music critic, his opinions exercised considerable influence in the musical life of Moscow in the last quarter of the 19th century. He publ. a textbook on elementary music theory (Moscow, 1875). A close friend of Tchaikovsky, he publ. a pamphlet entitled Reminiscences of Tchaikovsky (Moscow, 1896), which is valuable for its authentic biographical and psychological data. A selection of his articles was publ. in Moscow (1953).

Bibliography

V. Yakovlev, N.D. K. (Moscow and Leningrad, 1950); G. Glushchenko, N.D. K. (Moscow, 1974)

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire